Thread: Shampoo for pre shave beard cleansing?

There is an old trick among mechanics in that they use shampoo as a de-greaser for their hands. I was in the shower and used shampoo as a pre shave beard cleaner to remove the natural skin oil, dirt and to open the pores before shaving. It seemed to work decently enough.
I was wondering, has anyone else done this, and is there a downside to using shampoo?

I can imagine that skin oil will allow your razor to glide more smoothly and some (bars of) soaps leave my skin rather dry and sticky. I shave in the morning and shower in the evening, so I won't be trying it for myself, aside from being happy with how the shave goes as it is

I used to use shampoo with every shave, since I re-batched some Williams with 5% liquid lanolin I have not needed to use shampoo.

It is worth trying if softening your beard is difficult.

Jonathan

Some guys use conditioner instead of shampoo. I've tried it and it works but found that it made my face too greasy especially combined with other products I use.

I've always thought prior to shaving your skin and beard should be as clean and dry as possible. I've tried pre shave oils and conditioners and found the clean skin routine works best for me. Of course if you're talking an electric razor then you need some lube on the skin so the razor can better tear the whiskers out.